Do you want to drive investigative research and analysis that helps African democracies thrive?
Code for Africa (CfA) has
an immediate vacancy for a full-time Insights Editor to join our iLAB investigative and forensic analysis team.
The Insights Editor will
coordinate the data-driven investigative reports and analysis generated by the
iLAB to produce actionable insights into the continent’s media ecosystem and
emerging civic technology sector.
The position is based at
one of our hubs in Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal or South Africa. We’re also open to
exceptional applicants from elsewhere in Africa.
The successful candidate will join CfA’s transnational iLAB team. The iLAB works in support of the African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR), which is a CfA initiative that brings together the continent’s best muckraking newsrooms to investigate crooked politicians, organised crime and big business. The iLAB spearheads investigations that individual ANCIR newsrooms are unable to tackle on their own. This includes forensic analysis of suspected digital disinformation campaigns or toxic content aimed at misleading citizens or triggering social discord or polarisation using hate speech or radicalisation or other techniques.
You will be the editorial
sherpa for the team’s multinational and multilingual team that uses digital
collaboration tools and machine intelligence toolkits to create reports and
datasets for a global audience and international institutional partners.
Candidates must have
demonstrable experience in managing investigative processes and research
diaries, driving content production pipelines that involve collaboration across
multiple multinational and multilingual teams across Africa to ensure they
deliver world-class reports and data-driven insights to an agreed-upon schedule.
The ideal applicant is
fluent in English. Additional proficiency in French and/or Arabic would be an
advantage.
Required: minimum requirements include:
- Demonstrable
newsroom management skills in a mainstream media or equivalent digital
publishing environment.
- Strong
interpersonal communication skills and demonstrable aptitude for
operationally managing multiple content production teams across countries.
- Demonstrable
ability to create team timelines and milestones with clear
systems/processes.
- A
solid understanding of journalistic or other media-related production
systems and workflow methodologies.
- Digital
workplace skill sets, including proficiency in collaborative digital work
solutions such as Google Drive (Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.), Slack
(or equivalents such as Teams), and project management tools like Trello
(or equivalents).
- An
understanding of media ecosystems and/or digital advocacy and/or digital
civic engagement.
- Excellent
communication skills, including the ability to present research insights
and shape research outputs.
- The
ability to collaborate with a diverse set of multidisciplinary project
stakeholders.
- Experience
in working with remote, distributed teams with agile methodologies.
- Proactive,
solutions-oriented approach to problem solving
- Ability
to work under tight deadlines with good prioritisation and time management
skills
- Ability
to work with minimal instruction in a teamwork environment
- Strong
organisational, analytical and interpersonal skills
- High
professional standards and ethics
- The
basics – research, reporting, grammar, Associated Press style – are
priorities in writing. .
Preferred: candidates who are able to
demonstrate the following will have an advantage:
- Competence
in open source intelligence (OSINT) research techniques, including data
scraping, data mining and other intelligence gathering techniques.
- Multiple
languages, such as French, Arabic and other languages spoken in Africa.
Language and Location
Requirements:
Location: Kenya, Nigeria,
Senegal or South Africa. Exceptional candidates from elsewhere in Africa will
be considered.
International Language:
English
Preferred but not
required: Arabic, French, KiSwahili or any other major language spoken in
Africa.
About the Role:
The successful candidates
will join CfA’s transnational iLAB digital forensic team, to craft and manage
the content production process and output for the iLAB team. Outputs take the
form of research reports, briefing documents and presentations, among others.
As part of a multinational
team within a growing organisation, you must be agile and able to thrive in a
multicultural environment.
You will need to work
easily with people from different backgrounds who may speak different languages.
The role also will involve
the ability to multitask as a writer, an editor and publisher. Developing
cutting edge contents like dossiers that speak directly to the actions and
advocacy needed. It is intended that the role will help shape the skills of
other team members to enable them to become better writers and
storytellers.
Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include:
- Managing
the editorial production process and content diaries for the iLAB
producing analytic and investigative reports.
- Scheduling
and running the weekly ‘insights diary’ used to shape iLAB reports
and investigative outputs.
- Ensuring
that reports, presentations and briefing documents are delivered on time
by the relevant teams.
- Ensuring
that analytical and investigative outputs are aligned with organisational
goals and lead to meaningful outcomes.
What We Offer:
- A
competitive salary, subject to experience, with opportunities for
performance-based growth, both in terms of career path and public stature.
- A
dynamic workplace, with a transnational team, occasional international
travel, and generous vacation benefits.
- Ongoing
opportunities to learn new cutting-edge skills and techniques/technologies
to future-proof yourself in a rapidly evolving industry.
- A
chance to shine on a global stage, writing for international audiences and
interacting with colleagues around the world.
How to apply:
Please fill in this form by 15 February 2023. Applications
will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
